Islam in Europe

Islam has
been a major religion in many parts of Europe
since its earliest days, meaning that Muslim communities are long standing
members of the wider European community. But today, due to fears over
terrorism, security and immigration, European Muslims are facing mounting
hostility. What can be done to counter this situation? Can a dialogue between
cultures alleviate the fears of Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe?

Speaker:Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary
General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference:

"Islam in Europe:
Islam as a shared history and understanding between Europe and its neighbours;
the need to better understand Islam's position in Europe; and the future
between Europe and the World of Islam at large”

Professor Ihsanoglu took the office as the Secretary
General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in January 2005.
Previously, he has held other positions within the organisation, as well as
academic positions, including the position of the first Professor and founding
Head of the Department of History of Science of Istanbul University. He is also
the founding Chairman of Turkish Society for History of Science (TBTK) and ISAR
Foundation.

The Organisation of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the
United Nations which has membership of 57 states spread over four continents.
It seeks to act as the collective voice of the Muslim world and to safeguard
and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting
international peace and harmony among various peoples of the world.

Comments:Dr.
Marko Juntunen, University
of Helsinki

Chair:Dr. Raimo Väyrynen, Director, The Finnish Institute
of International Affairs

Summary of the seminar

Professor
Ihsanoglu began his speech by asking: Is Europe host or home for Muslims?

His
presentation underlined that Islam has been an important element of Europe for
centuries: Muslims lived in parts of what are now Spain
and Portugal and the Muslim
Empire of Ottomans was also present in Eastern Europe
for centuries. Even after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire,
significant Muslim minorities remain in the Balkans.

Islam and
Christianity have common roots, Professor Ihsanoglu said. Both Christianity and
Islam have Abrahamic roots and both derive from Greek philosophy. Without Arabic
translations of Greek philosophical texts, many of the best known Greek
authors’ works would not have reached the modern Europe.
Medieval Islamic science was very advanced compared to its European or
Christian counterparts.

Professor Ihsanoglu
said that currently there are some 40 different Muslim ethnic groups in
Europe. In addition, Muslim immigration to Europe in the last 50 years
has multiplied the number of
Muslims on the continent.

Professor Ihsanoglu
regretted that both Muslims and Christians are held hostages by the radicals on
both sides. He said that Muslim terrorists and European Islamophobes represent
only a tiny minority on both sides respectively, but still try to endanger the
millennial coexistence of Christians and Muslims in Europe and in the wider Middle East.

Professor Ihsanoglu
ended his speech by highlighting that Islam has, for almost all of its history,
been a part of Europe. Europe
is, therefore, not a host but a home for Muslims.

Doctor Marko Juntunen of the University of Helsinki
discussed the general tendencies among European social scientists who
concentrate on Islam and Muslims. He said that traditionally anthropologists
have studied only Muslims who live in Muslim countries. Social scientists have only
recently become interested in studying the Muslim minorities of Europe.

The
audience asked, among other things, the panellists about modernization and
reformation of Islam. Professor Ihsanoglu emphasized that Islam has already
gone through some reforms, but they are not necessarily similar to the European
reformist movements. Doctor Juntunen said that there is currently a heated
debate among Muslim scholars about modernizing Islam, but unfortunately this
has not yet echoed among the wider Muslim population. Juntunen also stated that
the Western media is making a great mistake by not showing interest in the
internal debate which is currently going on among Muslim scholars.